The A’s are aggressively building for their future in Las Vegas.
For A’s general manager David Frost, the club’s future is equally as important as the opening series they are playing in Toronto this weekend. Much like what the Oakland A’s accomplished in the early 1970s when then-owner Charlie Finley drafted and acquired young talent, and contractually locked them in to grow as champions, this seems to be the pattern of the current A’s calling West Sacramento, Calif., home.
Before their 2026 home-opening series on April 3 with the Houston Astros, there is still hope, however slim, of the A’s extending their prized first baseman Nick Kurtz.
Kurtz, 23, last season’s American League top rookie, is the last piece of the A’s foundation future not inked to a multi-year deal. His .290 batting average, 33 home runs slugged, and 90 runs scored in 117 games, all achieved after being recalled from Triple-A to the major leagues in late April, was everything and more than Frost and his team had anticipated.
With the A’s last qualifying for the postseason in 2019 as a Wild Card entrant, and a permanent move to Nevada upcoming, keeping Kurtz in the fold remains a priority for the club.
As for Kurtz, his comments prior to the start of and during spring training in Mesa, Arizona, to MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos appear to indicate he’s not in a rush to commit long-term for now.
“I would never say it’s out of the picture, but it’s not really the full focus. I’m young. I’m so happy for [Tyler]. He deserves that wholeheartedly. My main focus is on winning one. And then winning the second one,” he said.
“If we win games, everyone’s going to get paid. That’s the biggest thing for me. Let’s put it out on the field, and then we’ll deal with everything else later.”
Kurtz’s congratulatory comment to A’s teammate Tyler Soderstrom references the seven-year, $86 million contract extension the left fielder signed days before the calendar flipped to 2026.
However, Soderstrom isn’t alone among the A’s core to accept multi-year contracts in recent times. Right fielder/ center fielder Lawrence Butler, in March 2025, agreed to a seven-year, $65.5 million contract that will keep him in A’s colors through the 2031 season.
In January, Wilson—last season’s runner-up to Kurtz in American League Rookie of the Year balloting— put his John Hancock to a seven-year, $70 million contract that extends through the 2032 season.
As for Langeliers, in January, his first year of arbitration eligibility, he agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million commitment from the A’s. The A’s are on the record as saying they are open to a long-term deal with Langeliers as well.
As the A’s are in contractual limbo with Kurtz, who smashed four homers in one game last season—the first rookie ever to do so—they are taking steps to forge their own identity for Las Vegas.
After 57 seasons in Oakland, and now in year two of three planned for West Sacramento, the A’s are being payroll prudent. Currently coming in 25th place among all 30 MLB team payrolls for the 2026 season, the A’s are at $91,849,688, according to USA Today.
Spending wisely trumps spending highly in most instances. The New York Mets are the top payroll spenders this season, coming in at $357.6 million. For all their big-market, free-spending ways, the National League club hasn’t won a World Series championship in 40 years.
The Chicago Cubs last won a World Series in 2016. This past off-season, the Cubbies dished out $488 million in contracts, having spent more than any other MLB franchise.
It’s been 17 seasons since the New York Yankees last took ownership of the Commissioner’s Trophy as World Series champions. They are one of three clubs projected to have a payroll in excess of $300 million.
For the A’s, locking up their top players contractually points to the Las Vegas baseball fans having a contending team for the American League West. This should translate into a growing season ticket base.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay has much to smile about at the start of this season. He has a lineup of talented, young, committed players in the A’s organization for the coming seasons.
Long-term planning makes the skipper’s job that much easier by knowing who will be in his dugout in West Sacramento and Las Vegas. Baby steps toward becoming a dominant force in the West, with Houston, Seattle, and Texas looking over their shoulders, are becoming more obvious with each contract extension.
If or when Kurtz decides to sign on the dotted line with the A’s, this could be the difference between a divisional title—and beyond—or struggling to claim a Wild Card playoff position.